Francisco Lindor takes big step following hamate bone surgery

The New York Mets have been optimistic that star shortstop Francisco Lindor will be ready to go on Opening Day after undergoing surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in his left hand. Things appear to be trending in a positive direction for Lindor, who had the stitches from the procedure removed on Tuesday.

Francisco Lindor had the stitches in his hand removed yesterday

He'll begin "some impact" activities in two to three days, per Carlos Mendoza pic.twitter.com/5IXKjGV74J
— SNY (@SNYtv) February 25, 2026

Manager Carlos Mendoza provided the update during a dugout chat with reporters on Wednesday morning, adding that Lindor is 2-3 days away from beginning "impact activities". While it was not made clear what Mendoza meant by that phrasing, logic would dictate it could involve baseball activities where an impact could be felt through contact with the surgically repaired area.

Francisco Lindor got his stitches out yesterday, Carlos Mendoza says.

Lindor will take 2-3 days to make sure the scar is in a good place before he starts with any “impact activities.”

So far, everything with his progression since hamate bone surgery has been good, per Mendoza.
— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) February 25, 2026

The wait, according to Mendoza, is to make sure that the scar from the surgery is recovering well after the stitch removal before testing the area with baseball activities. Mendoza also added that everything has gone well for Lindor since the surgery, making the team's Opening Day timetable a realistic one at this juncture.

"I'm blessed that everyone around me is elite."

Despite the hamate bone surgery, Francisco Lindor is still all smiles at @Mets camp#Mets #LGM #SpringTrainingTour
🔗 https://t.co/WG5zyiVTKm pic.twitter.com/LKG0k5FfFl
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) February 24, 2026

How The Hamate Bone Surgery Could Impact Francisco Lindor's Season

It is certainly good news for the Mets that Lindor appears on track to be ready for Opening Day, but the track record for players coming off of hamate bone injuries is lengthy in terms of slow power buildup. It takes time to rebuild the strength in a surgically repaired hand, so it could take Lindor a month or two into the regular season to display the power that he has traditionally provided for the Mets.

With the departure of Pete Alonso for Baltimore, the Mets are already losing a reasonably guaranteed 35+ home runs and 100+ RBI from their lineup, in addition to the roughly 25 homers that Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil usually generate. The Mets have been hoping to replace that production in aggregate with the likes of Luis Robert Jr., Jorge Polanco and Bo Bichette, but that task could become more difficult if Lindor's power takes a bit to kick in.

Even with Lindor set to resume impact activities in a few days, he is behind his usual spring training progression at this point so it will take a bit for him to get into Grapefruit League games. Expect the Mets to proceed with caution here as they can't afford for Lindor to suffer a setback and miss time in the regular season, so it may take some time for Lindor to actually face big league pitching in a game setting to see how his power is holding up.

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